Today, we walked over to Artemis Temple - or what's left of it (see the column in the forefront) This was one of the 7 Wonders of the World and was a temple that was many times the size of the one in Athens on the acropolis. It burned down - still trying to figure out how a marble structure actually burns down - in 356BC the night that Alexander the Great was born. You just cant make this stuff up!
The structure was rebuilt, possibly several more times since there were raids by the Goths and other such peoples. Finally those pesky Christians weren't too happy about this structure and possibly helped in its destruction. Interesting though that pieces of it were used to build other buildings including the Bascilica St John located just right of the castle in this photo (castle is top structure) and later during Ottoman times, Isa Bey Mosque (structure to the left of column, just below the Byzantine castle). Columns are said to have been used to build the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (see my Istanbul pics).
Note that Mark used to play here, and at Ephesus when he was growing up. His house is about 30 min walk from here and you can see the castle and St. John basilica from the house.
Then we walked through the modern cemetery - I love cemeteries - and wandered near the Caves of the 7 Sleepers. Another ancient story tied to a Christian tale. One of Mark's good pals owns a great outdoor restaurant near there so we had to stop in for some tea. yavuz'un Yeri is a great place where you sit under the fig trees (where Yavuz and he used to sleep and eat figs) on Turkish carpets and pillows and eat delicious food cooked by Turkish women. Specialty includes Gozleme which is also called a pancake. It not a pancake as we know it - but a thin light bread filled with cheese, meat, onions and other goodies. The bread is hand made to order and is cooked atop a metal plate over a wood fire. Ayran is a necessary accompaniment.
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| frothy ayran |
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| they also do this at home, not just for tourists |
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| This dog starts singing when his favorite Turkish song is played. His whole mannerism changes as soon as the song starts - so funny to watch! |
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